Juniperus Itoigawa Bonsai of 27 years

Common Name: Juniperus

Scientific Name: Juniperus Chinensis

Characteristics: Originating from China and Japan, it belongs to the Cupressaceae family.

Although practically all species can be transformed into Bonsai, most cannot "compact" after formative pruning.

The best for Bonsai are the Japanese varieties, "Juniperus Sargentii," highly appreciated for its lush green color, and "Juniperus Itoigawa" for the hardness of its wood to create deadwood (Jin and Shari).

 
Juniperus Sabina is also highly appreciated and is quite common in the Iberian Peninsula.

 
Juniperus Rigida, with similar maintenance care, is also quite admired because its leaves are needles instead of "scales," and due to this characteristic, they compact easily and respond well to severe pruning. The downside is that it "pricks" your fingers a lot when working with it.

 
Location: Outdoors, where it receives 3 to 4 hours of direct sunlight per day (ideally in the morning or late afternoon), protected from strong winds and frost. It is very resistant to both cold and heat.

 
Watering: Water the soil thoroughly until a good amount of water drains out of the drainage holes to evenly moisten the soil, always from above, never by immersion, using a watering can with fine holes.

Tips on watering, consult the watering technical sheet.

 
Allow the top layer of soil to dry slightly between each watering (to check if the plant needs water, touch the soil with your fingers).

 
If you have a tray under the Bonsai, never leave any water in it (to prevent root rot).

It has a high water consumption, especially in summer, and likes to be misted on the leaves during watering, which helps prevent the appearance of red spider mites, but it should be dry at night to avoid fungi.

 
Nutrition: From February to October/November, with a base plan consisting of a complete fertilizer (Fertil Bonsai Humic, or Green & Gold Bonsai Organic or Biogold), and a biostimulant (Bio Bonsai Activ), which can also be combined with other products from our range.

 
Detailed information on how to combine these products with others from our range, or for a more specific nutrition plan, consult the complete nutrition plan technical sheet.

 
Pruning: Its leaves are scales and should be maintained by pinching them with your fingers; if scissors are used, the cut areas dry out.

Formative pruning should be done using scissors and pliers, always trying to cut in a way that is replaced by a new scale shoot.

Maintenance pruning is done throughout the year, while formative pruning is usually done after winter or after summer, so there is still autumn growth to compact the plant.

 
Most varieties tend not to compact after formative pruning; this is due to the plant's natural defense mechanism, which, when heavily pruned for some time, stops producing scales and starts producing needles (in nature, this mechanism causes plants or parts of the plant that are heavily grazed to be temporarily protected because animals get pricked).

 
This defense process prevents a good aesthetic result for many varieties because we can never have beautiful scales close to the branches. Only when we let them "grow away" from the crown do they stop producing needles and return to scales, but by then the Bonsai design is already lost.

Tips on pruning, consult the pruning and defoliation technical sheet.

Repotting: Using Conifer Bonsai Soil in February/March, when bud break begins.

For specimens in small pots or grown in very hot areas, a solution to maintain soil hydration given the high water consumption in summer months is to make a mix of 50% Conifer Bonsai Soil, plus 50% Deciduous Bonsai Soil or Akadama.

Details on repotting, post-repotting care, and specific fortifiers you can use are available in the repotting technical sheet.

Wiring: Ideally from late winter to early spring, but it can be done all year round. We usually take the opportunity to do cleaning pruning at the same time.

Instructions on wiring, consult the wiring technical sheet.